Voices from the Edge

About the program …

Community dialogue is important. At 8am every Thursday Voices from the Edge lends a KBOO microphone to informed guests you might not hear anywhere else. With an hour to invest, the call-in format engages listeners in meaningful conversations about crucial issues like racial disparity, government accountability, environmental justice and politics on local, state and national levels. Join lively discussions about concerns that are important to you and our community. Together we’ll make Oregon and our nation a better place for a larger number of those living here.

About the host …

Jo Ann Hardesty is Principal Partner at Consult Hardesty. She serves as a subject matter expert on a myriad of issues and is available as a speaker, facilitator and campaign planner. A long-time voice for Portland's under-represented communities and a leader in the struggle against racial and economic injustice, Jo Ann was three times elected to the Oregon legislature and for many years Executive Director of Oregon Action. She’s been called on by the City of Portland to help re-write the City Charter and organizes those on the downside of power to pursue their interests from the local to the federal level. She is particularly committed to leadership development and in holding those in power accountable.

Join the conversation …

Join the conversation every Thursday morning from 8-9 a.m. by calling 503-231-8187. Keep the conversation going after the program at our blog at kboo.fm/voicesfromtheedge.

Where are the leaders in the African American community is a question I get asked a lot. As I look inside our current political system this is what I have found: Recently Governor Kitzhaber quietly let go his Director of Media Services a young African American woman named Nkenge Harmon Johnson. Ms. Harmon Johnson was one of two African Americans employed by this governor. With so few people of color in the Governor’s administration this change requires more information Just a few days ago Lakeitha Elliott resigned her position with the Multnomah County Democratic Central Committee as Chair due to ongoing non-cooperation of some members of the board who originally challenged her election and have never gotten over her successful re-election into that post.

Join Edward T. Haslam, author of the updated book Dr. Mary's Monkey How the unsolved murder if a doctor, a secret laboratory in New Orleans and cancer-causing monkey viruses are linked to Lee Harvey Oswald, the JFK assassination and emerging global epidemics for what should be an interesting conversation.

The Occupy movement is an international protest movement against social and economic inequality, its primary goal being to make the economic and political relations in all societies less vertically hierarchical and more flatly distributed. Local groups often have different focuses, but among the movement's prime concerns deal with how large corporations and the global financial system control the world in a way that disproportionately benefits a minority, undermines democracy, and is unstable. It is part of what Manfred Steger calls the "global justice movement". The first Occupy protest to receive widespread attention was Occupy Wall Street in New York City's Zuccotti Park, which began on 17 September 2011.

On June 26 we first spoke with Latoya Harris who's daughter (9-years old at the time) was handcuffed at her home dressed only in a swimsuit - and days following a playground tiff that had long since been resolved. No case was ever brought, not by a DA, nor by our 'self-defeating police accountability system. I will speak with Latoya's and her daughter to update you on this ongoing story. Portland police Officer David McCarthy and Officer Matthew Huspek, who are assigned to a special police detail at New Columbia, have no business working with kids!

It's summer time in Portland so gangs must be on the rise, as per Chief Mike Reese, Portland Police Bureau. Yesterday Multnomah County Local Public Safety Council released a 500 page report met to make us all afraid that gang activity in Multnomah County is running rampant. I wish we could believe the source of this data but having reviewed the lopsided survey sent out to the public to support this notion its sole goal is to convince the community to volunteer to stop gang violence and pay the cops overtime for gang work. It is the normal public-private partnership where the public law enforcement agencies get resources (up to $200,000 for enforcement activities vs the volunteer community support.

Guest host Dave Mazza speaks with Midge Purcell of the Urban League about their campaign to pass an ordinance to require employers and landlords to remove the box on applications asking about an applicant's previous arrest record or convictions.

They ask if you believe that everyone should have a fair chance for a good job and stable housing?

Have you or someone you know faced job or housing discrimination because of a criminal record?

Portland police Officer David McCarthy and Officer Matthew Huspek, who are assigned to a special police detail at New Columbia, placed a 9-year-old girl in handcuffs last May and took her to police headquarters in downtown Portland to be fingerprinted and photographed in connection with an alleged assault against another girl at a local youth club, according to their police reports.

Join Talilo Marfil and I on Thursday morning for Voices from the Edge as we discuss Hip Hop in Portland and an upcoming Hip Hop Celebration for homeless youth at Pioneer Square. Talilo is an outreach worker with New Avenues for Youth who will discuss his job and why a positive Hip Hop event is so needed. We will discuss the aggressive policing presence and the recent use of the Fire Marshall, excessive police presence and pat downs are used to intimidate black youth who attend. Is Hip Hop illegal in Portland? What can the rest of us do to support our youth in positive activities this summer? Join us from 8-9AM as we dive into this topic. For more information on the upcoming event please follow the Facebook link below.

Black leadership is on the rise - from the White House to corporate giants like Xerox Corp. In progressive Oregon, however, blacks currently hold no elected positions in the city, county or regional governments within the metropolitan area where most of their community resides. These political disparities are more than matched by economic, social, health and education disparities that have left black Oregonians impoverished.

Charles McGee and Johnell Bell, co-founders of the Black Parent Initiative, believe the time has come for this to change. In a recent essay in the Oregonian, McGee and Bell called "for Oregon to have a different conversation, followed by bold policy changes and courageous action...being well-meaning or well intentioned is no longer enough." Jo Ann and Dave talk with McGee and Bell about their call to action and the role of all Oregonians in ending racial disparities within our state.

Coming up in September! On September 3, Jo Ann and Dave talk with organizers of the effort to recall Mayor Sam Adams. On September 10, Dave and Jo Ann will talk with exonerated death row inmate Curtis McCarty about his experiences and Exonerated, the documentary about his ordeal.

The conversation doesn't end when the program does. You can join in additional discussion of the week's issue on our blog at kboo.fm/voicesfromtheedge (click on the "blog" tab). You'll find additional information, important links, comments from other listeners and commentary from Jo Ann and Dave. Have a question for our guests, but can't call in during the program? Post your questions on line so we can make them a part of the Voices discussion.

Portland may be a green city, but some of its school children are breathing air more like the polluted skies of Cleveland. A USA Today study found six of our city's schools in northwest and north/northeast Portland among the worst in the nation for exposing children to airborn toxins. Benzine, a carcinogen found in gasoline, exceeds DEQ safety standards by 26 percent. Frustrated with lack of action by state regulators, parents of children in some of the mot impacted schools are organizing the community. Neighbor for Clean Air wants industrial users in the area like ESCO to install better air filtration systems and DEQ to provide more extensive monitoring (DEQ is currently monitoring only one school - Harriet Tubman Leadership Academy for the next 60 days).

Jo Ann and Dave talk with Mary Peveto of Neighbors for Clean Air about their petition drive and other efforts to clear the air in Portland's schools. Also joining the conversation is Geri Williams, founder of the Environmental Justice Action group and longtime community activist working on air quality issues in North and Northeast Portland.

The conversation doesn't end when the program does. You can join in additional discussion of the week's issue on our blog at kboo.fm/voicesfromtheedge (click on the "blog" tab). You'll find additional information, important links, comments from other listeners and commentary from Jo Ann and Dave. Have a question for our guests, but can't call in during the program? Post your questions on line so we can make them a part of the Voices discussion.

The Portland Police Bureau agreed to develop a plan for ending racial profiling within their organization. But despite promises from Police Chief Rosie Sizer, little progress seems to have been made. Community oganizations, meanwhile, are turning up the heat on city hall to implement an action plan now. Jo Ann talks with local activist Dave Hardesty about recent developments in the effort to end racial profiling in the police bureau.

The State of Black Oregon was published earlier this month by the Urban League of Portland. The report contains a stark inventory of statistics that show a persistent gap in living standards between black and white Oregonians – a gap that is growing wider as a result of the current economic downturn. "During the last eight years, the poverty gap in America and in this state has continued to grow," says Marcus C. Mundy, president and CEO of the Urban League of Portland. Jo Ann and Dave talk with the League's Marcus Mundy and Midge Purcell about the report and how Oregon can close this gap.

Last month, President Obama sat down over beers with a Cambridge cop and a Harvard professor to talk about an ugly incident that brought home how deep racial tensions still run in our nation. The president saw the arrest of Henry Louis Gates, Jr. by Sgt. James Crowly as a "teachable moment" that could help Americans in their struggle to understand race and its impacts. But can talking about race make a difference?

In Portland, where gentrification has fueled racial tensions, John Canda and Judith Mowry think talking is essential to get people to confront issues they ignore or pretend don't exist within our community and the nation. For the last two years, the city's Office of Neighborhood Involvement and the Restorative Listening Project has been holding their own versions of President Obama's "beer summit" in North and Northeast Portland, bringing together through the Uniting to Understand Racism program. Can talk reduce racial strife? Does bringing people together to confront difficult issues that go to the heart of how power is or isn't shared make our democracy stronger?

Jo Ann and Dave talk with the Restorative Listening Project's John Canda and the Office of Neighborhood Involvement's Judith Mowry about what we have to gain by talking to each other.

The conversation doesn't end when the program does. You can join in additional discussion of the week's issue on our blog at kboo.fm/voicesfromtheedge (click on the "blog" tab). You'll find additional information, important links, comments from other listeners and commentary from Jo Ann and Dave. Have a question for our guests, but can't call in during the program? Post your questions on line so we can make them a part of the Voices discussion.

Seven months into a new administration and the nation still finds itself embroiled in two Asian wars. Many Americans would have difficulty explaining how the Obama administration's conduct of these wars differs from the last administration's. They're certainly not being helped by policymakers and pundits who are working overtime to marginalize arguments for American withdrawal from the region. With the economy now people's foremost concern, how does the peace movement change the national conversation about war and peace?

Jo Ann and Dave talk with Tom Hastings, Director of the Oregon Peace Institute's Peace Voice Program. On August 1, the program will host the Peace Voice Conference, bringing together activists, academics and others to explore new ways to bring together diverse communities in order to refocus the public discourse on the possibilities of peace and the inadvisibility of war.

Also this Thursday: Jo Ann and Dave talk with Betsy Dillard, Director of Health Care for America Now, about the current status of health care reform bills currently making their way through Congress.

The conversation doesn't end when the program does. You can join in additional discussion of the week's issue on our blog at kboo.fm/voicesfromtheedge (click on the "blog" tab). You'll find additional information, important links, comments from other listeners and commentary from Jo Ann and Dave. Have a question for our guests, but can't call in during the program?

As recent events in Iran have shown, technology has given ordinary people the power to inform neighbors down the street and strangers halfway around the world about important events regardless of government censorship or corporate media indifference. "Community media" - citizen-operated print, broadcast and digital technologies - is filling the information needs of a growing number of Americans. The Alliance for Community Media's 2009 international conferencerecently took place in Portland, where hundreds of media activists discussed new concepts in community media and challenge old ones. Is community media reaching and reflecting the community? Are there lessons to be learned from the professional media? What is the future of community media?

Jo Ann and Dave talk with Erik Mollberg, chair of the Indiana Chapter of the Alliance for Community Media, and director of Ft Wayne's Public, Educational and Governmental television services. Mollberg, one of the organizers of the conference, lobbies and writes extensively for greater realization of public access to media. Also joining the conversation is Phil Busse, founder of the Northwest Institute for Social Change, and two participants in the institutes's summer media camp, a program for learning how to use art and media to create social change.

The conversation doesn't end when the program does. You can join in additional discussion of the week's issue on our blog at kboo.fm/voicesfromtheedge(click on the "blog" tab). You'll find additional information, important links, comments from other listeners and commentary from Jo Ann and Dave. Have a question for our guests, but can't call in during the program? Post your questions on line so we can make them a part of the Voices discussion.

Over 75 percent of Americans want health care reform according to a new Pew Research poll. President Obama remains committed to reforming our health care system this year. But as Congress struggles to craft legislation, the voice of concerned voters is getting drowned out by a vocal minority working from the same play book. Will serious health care reform die on the operating table at the hands of congressional Republicans, conservative pundits, and industry spin doctors?

Dave speaks with local health care reform advocates about what progress is being made to overhaul the nation's health care system. How will budget concerns be addressed? Will a public option survive Republican opposition? Is single-payer dead? How will federal reforms fit with recent actions by the Oregon legislature? Joining in the conversation will be Oregon Center for Public Policy's health care advocate, Janet Bauer, and Oregon Health Action Campaign's Director of Community Engagement, Onofre Contreras.

The conversation doesn't end when the program does. You can join in additional discussion of the week's issue on our blog at kboo.fm/voicesfromtheedge (click on the "blog" tab). You'll find additional information, important links, comments from other listeners and commentary from Jo Ann and Dave. Have a question for our guests, but can't call in during the program? Post your questions on line so we can make them a part of the Voices discussion.

Portland's high school dropout rate is the highest in the metropolitan area. While the statewide rate declined last year, Portland high school students are dropping out at twice the rate - 8.2 percent - of students in other Oregon communities. The city's high schools are also grappling with other issues: a growing number of students opting for GED credentials, budget shortfalls, and demands from parents for greater accountability to the community.

Portland Public School Superintendent Carole Smith has launched a major reorganization of the high school systemto address these and other issues. The plan calls for closing some high schools, restructuring others, creating more magnet schools and restricting the ability of students to attend schools outside the district in which they reside. Can the reorganization address the problems facing Portland's high schools? Is it still viable in today's economic environment? How will it affect communities that feel they've been short-changed by the school system in the past?

Jo Ann and Dave talk with Sarah Singer, project manager of the Portland Public School District's high school redesign team and Sarah Carlin Ames, communications coordinator with the team about their plan, its goals and whether it will meet the needs of all Portland students in the coming years.

Jo Ann and Dave also talk with David Fidanque, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregonabout the recent Supreme Court rulings on affirmative action and on strip searches of school students.

The conversation doesn't end when the program does. You can join in additional discussion of the week's issue on our blog at kboo.fm/voicesfromtheedge(click on the "blog" tab). You'll find additional information, important links, comments from other listeners and commentary from Jo Ann and Dave. Have a question for our guests, but can't call in during the program? Post your questions on line so we can make them a part of the Voices discussion.

Closing Portland's affordable housing gap: a talk with Portland Community Land Trust

The real estate bubble may have burst but many Portlanders still find homeownership beyond their reach. Even with today's lower housing costs, affordable housing for a family earning the median family income ($66,900) would be priced at $200,000 - a price limited to very few homes currently available, and even fewer at that price with the space available for a family of four. For low income families earning less than 60 percent of the median family income, the opportunities are nearly non-existent. Is it important to make home ownership available? How do we close the affordable housing gap in Portland?

Comments

I just wanted to post a link to an article about the foreclosure mills that make money off of the forsclosure mess. http://motherjones.com/politics/2010/07/david-stern-djsp-foreclosure-fannie-freddie?page=1

I did not hear an apology for you making a blatant distortion of my comment. I do not appreciate being lied about and especially by a campaign which you obviously are supporting which hypocritically poses as the moral arbitrator of the Universe regarding truth telling.

Again, let me clarify:

First off, I did not say, as was falsely stated by you and your guest, that politicians have a right to lie. I stated that everyone has a right to lie about their love life. That is a vastly different point and I bitterly resent being lied about on this.

This distortion (lie) by your guest and you is sadly emblematic of the hyperbolic nature of this entire pesudo-moralistic campaign.

I will receive your apology before I ever again associate with you or this program.

Will again and please correct your slander of me and misstatement of my comment.

First off, I did not say, as was falsely stated by JoAnn and your caller, that politicians have a right to lie. I stated that everyone has a right to lie about their love life. That is a vastly different point and I bitterly resent being lied about on this.

This distortion (lie) by your guest and JoAnn is emblematic of the hyperbolic nature of this entire pesudo-moralistic campaign.

It is a fact that Republicans involved in this are using this as an organizing tool. It is a fact that this campaign is making common-cause with anti-progressive forces.

It is this campaign that is the divisive force in our community.

This signature campaign is the darling of the right wing. This campaign is the best thing that has happened to the Multnomah Co. Republican Party since Theodore Roosevelt.

If this is about negative campaigning- WHY IS THIS SUCH A THOROUGLY NEGATIVE CAMPGAIGN. IT REDUCES POLITICAL DIALOG TO THE LEVEL OF A GRAMMER SCHOOL PLAYGROUND.

I agree, Peter. This article is germane: One outcome of Professor Gate’s arrest should be an understanding that “What lends legitimacy (to our legal system) is our belief that the police are dutiful servants of the people — not their arbitrary oppressors.”

The Declaration of Independence promptly asserts “… Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the consent of the governed.”

'Know Your Rights' training is imperative, as a 'check and balance' against unwarranted interference with the intent of the U.S. Constitution. An informed citizenry is a Public Good. Vigilance against abuse of power is actually a civic responsibility.

I know first-hand a tendency by Portland police to escalate situations that might be otherwise resolved. I have only an inkling of the mental pressures involved in policing, and but a dim suspicion as to the social handicaps that come with wielding weapons, spending so much time in the milieu of antisocial behavior, of having a community grant your uniformed subgroup status as The Enforcers. I would suspect such pressure, status and lethal equipment make it difficult to appreciate a role of Servant of the People.

Do you know what the common ground may be?

Law enforcement.

How can we change our dialogue so that a person of color, being thrown up against chain link fence – sometimes even without a pretext of wrongdoing – has standing when there is no probable cause that a crime is being committed?

By advocating that police actions adhere to Constitutional provisions for freedom from unwarranted search, to be secure in their possessions; would not this citizen also be involved in law enforcement?

One really ironic point I failed to make on the program is that, from the time of Chief Kroeker onward, it has likely been in the consciousness of Portland Police Bureau command that racial profiling actually inhibits criminal detection and prosecution. Simply the perception of police misconduct reduces the quality of public cooperation. One of the results of racial bias is that it is more difficult to secure leads and eventual witness testimony from a disenfranchised, victimized population of law-abiding citizens.

I suggest there will be a real reduction in crime (due to citizen cooperation) when and if policing is seen to be done lawfully. If it were a shared perception that people who oppose the immoral, unethical and illegal practice of racial profiling had merit as Constitutional law enforcers, I would think this a positive dynamic … and not just for people of color, but other negatively affected groups like the mentally ill, for whom self-advocacy is a supreme challenge.

Let us fuse training and dialogue. You mention the ‘well-trained cop.’ Perhaps ‘Know Your Rights’ training (and Oregon Action training includes de-escalation strategies) might dovetail with Portland Police Bureau training. What would be achieved if police training alerted officers that a segment of the population - fatigued by unconstitutional behavior - will be advocating for just and equitable treatment?

If that segment of the population included Police Commissioner Saltzman, Human Rights Commissioner Fritz, City Auditor Griffin-Valade and Mayor Adams, I think the Police union would find impetus to engage in negotiations for a means to weed out officers refusing to enforce the Constitution, state law, or bureau regulations.

To take up your point about police as public servants, the Auditor’s Independent Police Review Board is poised to actually adopt that frame of reference. Currently specializing in facts and figures, there is a component of their reporting primed and ready for public pressure to make this a prime frame of reference for assessing the Police Bureau’s functionality.

Perhaps better left for another blog, I just want you to know that civilian oversight of armed government activity is imperative as the nation pursues a War on Terror. If the City of Portland were to weigh in on fundamental human rights during the nation’s general expansion of police powers, it stands likely to do a Public Good that cannot now be calculated.

On this morning's (June 18) program Joann mentioned a man (I think she said "young" and "minority" )who is becomming active in environmental matters, I would like to talk with him about joining the planning and implementation of an event that is scheduled to take place on October 24th.

I am a member ot the Peace and Social Concerns Committee of the Multnomah Monthly Meeting of Friends (Quakers), and the organizer of a sub-group called "Global Coolers". We meet monthly and have taken the responsibility of informing the Meeting about global warming and involving them in efforts to lessen our individual and collective destructive impact on the planet.We have also hosted a couple of community events over the past several years.
Yesterday I learned that Bill McKibben, who is a leading activist in the environmental protection movement, is organizing a world-wide demonstration to take place on October 24: it is described on 350.org.
I want to make sure that Portland participates in this event.
I have not talked yet to other environmental activists about involvement (there may already be plans afoot) but I will do so in the next couple of days. In any case I will welcome all participants in the planning and execution of the event. My telephone number is 503-292-1817.
Thank you for your attention.
Peace, Jim

I was disturbed to hear this morning information that leads me to think I did not check out the ballot measures carefully enough. As an intelligent conservative, I find it both important and difficult to listen to KBOO and other left-of-center sources regularly, and the comments this morning made it clear that I should invest more energy into that effort.

On the other hand, I was a bit amused (and relieved of my nascent guilt) when I heard you adamantly insist that Measure 53 passed by a 76-24 margin because a day-old paper said so. It is possible that the Oregonian was that far off the mark - if so, I would assume that it was an early edition which showed very preliminary results. I went to three sources this morning of which two gave vote tallies. KATU.com indicates that as of 8am today the vote on 53 was YES 475,838 and NO 473,912 which is a margin of less than 2000 votes out of nearly 1 million. Rounded to the nearest percent, the vote is 50-50. KOIN.com had very similar (probably identical) numbers.

So I figure that if you let your personal opinions cloud such simple and easily ascertained facts, if you are so closed-minded that you will not double-check this when it is disputed, I need not concern myself with your judgment on the more complex issue of Measure 53 itself.